Drive Thru
by CoffeeMarbles
Summary: Some people consider Roxas's continuous habit of purchasing a burger meal at a fast-food restaurant an addiction. Other's might call it an infatuation. Axel/Roxas


A/N  
Kinda came to me one day while I was fighting Argorok in Twilight Princess. Needless to say I got immensely distracted as such and died a firey death in the sky. And wouldn't leave me alone until I got it all out in typing...and I couldn't stop typing. Another loooong oneshot, but I hope you find it enjoyable anyhoo. Dang you inspiration bugs, daaang yoooou! Le Jeu de L'amour will be put on hold for now, just until I get everything settled in. I just started a new job, along with my summer English course. But enough about my sob life story--on with the one that matters!

Disclaimer: Oh if only...  
Pairing: Axel/Roxas

* * *

The young man gripped the steering wheel as if the entire vehicle would fall apart if he let go. His bright azure eyes stared at the still line up of cars ahead, occasionally flicking back to look at that sickeningly bright board a few feet ahead. His stomach was churning in such an uncomfortable manner. It felt like there was a batch full of unimaginably hungry butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. It also felt like his stomach juices were gnawing at him from the inside. For all he knew, he could have twenty ulcers by now, what with all the greasy burgers and the 'megasized' orders of French fries, and not to mention the full cups of carbonated drinks his poor body had been consuming for lunch for the past month.

Blue eyes looked down guiltily at his waist, which was getting a bit soft even with his sturdy ten-hours-exercising-a-week policy. A hand reached down from the leather wheel to pat his stomach endearingly, soothing it through the thin blue material, while he attempted to apologize to it in his own mind.

_It's not my fault!_ Roxas tried, kneading at his warm stomach. _Just a few more days of this, and I'll cut out Happy McBurgers forever from my diet. Seriously._

_That's what you a few days ago_, the blond's tummy retorted, contracting a little under the touch of fingertips.

_aaand a few days before that,_ said his hand, now choosing to scratch idly at soft flesh.

_Shut up._

Okay, so the inner battle and attempts to lie to oneself didn't work.

The boy let his throbbing head fall back on the head rest, only then realizing just how hard the damn thing was. He winced, and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

The red four-door in front began to slowly accelerate out of the ordering area, leaving a wide gap between the drive-thru wait line and Roxas's blue Mini Cooper. Roxas saw the disturbingly happy burger mascot flash a couple times, signaling the next customer to drive up and scream into the daunting mouth of big, friendly, happy McBurger.

Why was he here again? Hadn't he stayed up all night last night, completely neglecting his research paper on the psychology of addiction and instead spent the evening pacing around his living room telling himself that Happy McBurgers would be off limits today? Wasn't it he who had repeated "no more burgers" like a mantra to the frowny looking blond in the mirror last night? And since no one else lives in the same dorm room, it could only have been he himself who had posted the thirty yellow sticky notes screaming 'NO BURGERS' on his drawers, his computer monitor, his mirror—everywhere.

So why was he here?

The mesh intercom between those humongous burger lips cracked, and a muffled yet distinctive boyish voice came on. "Welcome to Happy McBurgers, what can I happily get for you today?"

Oh, right, Roxas suddenly remembered why.

"I, uh," in a daze, he stuck his head out the window, almost catching his forehead on the frame, and cleared his throat—now when did his tongue manage to make a Bowline Knot in his mouth?—the young male shifted a bit in his chair, unpinning his lower lip from his teeth before trying again.

"Uh, G'afternoon, can I take your order?" The crackling voice asked politely.

"Yeah, sorry, uuuh, c-can I get the Double Happy Burger with a side of fries and a, uh, tea—I mean cool tea—no I meant iced tea?" Roxas closed his eyes and cursed himself in an inaudible hiss.

"Okay," the voice spoke up again, "did you want to megasize your fries sir?" Roxas hesitated. He really shouldn't. He had probably consumed enough oily, salted strips of potato to feed an entire country and a half. And only god knows what the hell all this cholesterol is doing to his arteries. At that moment, Roxas would have known better to just cancel the entire order and drive off, and maybe spend the other half of his day sweating off the fat and whatever oil they use, which have quite possibly made a living lining his blood vessels. Yeah, sounds like a good plan—go back to dorm, run around the campus for two hours, go to the gym and play around with the dumbbells for another hour—

"Megasize your meal to megasize your happy day!"

Oh, but god_damn_ that voice.

"Yes, sure, okay, megasize my fries. Please." Roxas added.

"And your drink, sir?" The voice asked again, still perky and, as the slogan went, happy as ever.

Roxas closed his eyes, trying to stamp down that nervous little grin that was poking at the corners of his lips. He _really _shouldn't. "Yes, okay, please, megasize me." There was a pregnant pause where Roxas had to digest the mild innuendo in that statement, and in a flurry sputtered to apologize. "I meant the drink!"

The laugh that flowed out of the crappy speaker was enough to tug at Roxas's mouth again, giving him a silly looking smirk.

"No worries. Will that be all for you t'day, sir?"

"Yes." _You talk any more, and I might just order the entire menu, goddamn._

"That'll be seven-seventy-six, pick up at your next window, thank you!"

With a short sigh of relief, Roxas released his foot on the brake pedal and let the car roll forward on its own. After a few minutes of waiting for the two cars that were in front pay and receive their meal in those all-too-familiar brown and _smiling_ bags, Roxas gave a sigh and pressed his car forward towards the little white sliding window. The male working inside had his back turned to the blond in the car, busy tossing little packs of ketchup and sweet-and-sour sauce into the paper bag. The blond college student gave another long breath, choosing to admire the gaudy décor around the window's frame instead while simultaneously combing his hair with his fingers. Again, a familiar face, a deliriously cheerful hamburger waved hello to his face.

"Your Double Happy Burger will be another minute, sir," the tall man inside exclaimed, turning around to face the car. "Well, hello again."

Roxas bit his lip as he looked out of his window, through the other open window, and into green eyes. A wide, enthused grin met him, "and your total comes to seven-sixty-seven."

Right, _right_, he has to pay money for this junk. Smiling apologetically, Roxas fumbled around to slip his wallet out from his back pocket. The man didn't comment, but watched in quiet amusement as the small blond in the car whipped out a ten dollar bill, only to drop his checkered wallet in the process.

"You must really like burgers, sir," the young man chirped as he took the crinkled bill and flicked out the correct change with those long fingers of his. Roxas could only nod dumbly as he reached out to collect the handful of coins. The man carefully slipped the obnoxiously large cup of sugared liquid into the bag, "this is probably your thousandth time I've served you at Happy McBurgers?"

Roxas let out a weak laugh, blue eyes suddenly forcing themselves off the pair of lush green eyes to meet the blaze of red hair, slung back in a semi-neat pony tail, only to flicker off south and attach onto those dang black tattoos that caught Roxas's attention _every time,_ before finally settling to examine the bag. "Yeah, I know," he ran a hand through his yellow mane, "I guess you can start calling me Mr. McBurger next time."

When the tall redhead didn't respond, or rather, answered with a question, but into the microphone instead of speaking to yours truly, Roxas couldn't decide whether he was relieved he didn't hear that crack about becoming the fast food joint's stupid mascot, or upset. As compromise, huffed and continued to observe that brown paper bag at the window sill. The damned burger was _still_ smiling at him, no matter how many of its brothers Roxas has digested thus far.

"—that'll be five-sixty-five at your next window, thank you! Oh, here you go, sir." The tall worker finally grabbed the colorful box that jittered down the conveyor belt behind him, and tucked it into the bag along with several napkins. "You should sit in one day—the place ain't so bad for a fast food joint."

Meal packed and ready to go, the lanky worker leaned out slightly out of the window to hand the university student his, quite possibly, thousandth burger lunch.

"I'll do that sometime." Roxas responded, taking in, along with the full bag and the strong aroma of fries and juicy burger patty, another glimpse at a pair of emeralds.

"Oh, gave you a few extra packs of that sweet chili sauce too. Got that little extra sauce order all memorized now." The crimson haired boy added with a playful wink.

Roxas couldn't help but break into a laugh. The guy remembered, how nice. "Thanks, Axel." He clenched the bag a little bit before letting it sit in the passenger seat.

"Have a happy day," Axel smirked as Roxas began pulling out of the drive thru, "See you next time, Mr. McBurger, sir."

As soon as Roxas made it over the yellow speedbump, the last few words finally sunk into his mind. Damn stupid happy juices were starting to stir. Back to campus he drove, that stupid grin never leaving his face.

* * *

A few days (according to his stomach, which was still groaning from the stress of two hundred crunches the previous night) later, in the clear blue sky of a July afternoon, Roxas found himself circling the block of the Happy McBurger restaurant continuously: pulling into the parking lot, then abruptly leaving the lot again. If it wasn't for the risk of getting pulled over by a cop for suspicious actions of circling the neighborhood, the student was positive he'd circle the damned area until sundown.

After parking his car at the curb just around the corner, the blond flopped over the wheel, which was heated by both the glaring sun and his sweaty palms. The male then began to perpetually knock his poor forehead against the rippled circumference.

_God, what the hell is wrong with me?_ The blond groaned into the wheel.

_You're hungry, that's what's wrong, _his stomach answered, giving a long, bubbly growl from below as an emphasis, _I don't know what the hell you've done, but now I'm conditioned to break down these stupid grease burgers at this time of day, everyday. _Roxas gave another distressed sound. _I swear there's three times as much bile and lipase in your body right now. 'Grats on pulling a damned Pavlov with your body._

_Pfft, yeah right,_ Roxas's hands raked roughly through the mess of yellow hair, tugging at the tresses and earning a disgruntled noise from the young male. _Lefty and I both know why you're here._

_Yeah, totally, _his left hand chimed in. _We know what you want to get your hands on, and it's toootally not a burger._

_But we know you want to get a handful of soft buns, yes?_

_Or maybe you want a whole pickle instead of a slice, hmm?_

The two imaginary voices sneered and teased the speechless blond for a while longer, before finally growing bored of the boy's mute response and shutting up. One day, Roxas will go see a shrink about these talking limbs of his…or at least earn a degree in Psychology and diagnose himself.

So trying to hide the fact that you've developed a little crush was apparently plenty harder than Roxas thought. Hell, if his _limbs_ and _organs_ knew about it, how oblivious could the rest of the world be? But there's nothing to be ashamed of, right? It's just a little crush, after all. Roxas shook his head. No, 'crush' is already overdoing it—maybe just an infatuation, he decided. He barely knew the guy—no, strike that, he didn't know anything about this guy at all, aside from the fact that his hair always looked like an explosion of red spikes and his eyes are always glowing something fierce, and that his name was Axel, but even his name was given to Roxas on a silver plate (also known as a name tag).

_Why did I have to agree to drive Pence down to grab lunch? Whyyy?_

Roxas never forgot the day he first laid eyes on that interesting specimen behind the white window. It was the day he broke his cognitive pact, the one that was active since his chubby days in highschool, the one that said "I shall not eat fast foods ever again". The boy, since the activation of his pact, had always been health conscious (or in Hayner's words, a "veggie Nazi", "vitamin vacuum", "bran granny"; the list goes on), so why he had decided to drive his friend to a, ugh, fast food drive thru instead of the nearest Salad Savior was beyond him. At least it wasn't him who was eating those things, Roxas had thought as he drove up to the speaker that day. It wasn't until he heard that distinguishing voice did he cave in to the world of burgers and fries and 'megasize'.

Now, the blond was making at least four or five trips to this grease factory to stuff his, surely, deteriorating body to satisfy his...his...

_Eye libido? _ His right hand offered.

No matter how ridiculous that _whatever_ his hand had said to fill his sentence, Roxas was sure it was correct. His eye libido, his irrational, continual, and quite possibly freaky habit of taking in the man's slender face, his hair, eyes, thin lips, broad shoulders, that attractive torso that looked even more like an hourglass with that red apron tied around the waist, not to mention that sexy, hissy, manly voice of his—

It didn't take Roxas long to start up the car and zoom around the corner and back into the familiar car lot again. He jerked a bit as he stopped at the long drive thru line. Putting his weight onto the brake, the blond male sighed and slithered down, deeper into his comfortable maroon seat. He winced slightly, exposed skin poking out from his thin T-shirt quickly becoming heated with the bright rays of the sun streaming in from the open car window.

_It was such a nice day out to go running, to go biking, to go skateboarding…and what do I do? _Roxas grumbled to himself, absent-mindedly checking out his nails, _I sit in my car and drive around like a maniac, and chew on a fattening burger._

At last (but not as if Roxas was really desperate to get an order in, really), the line cleared, and the university undergraduate drove up to the damned burger face again. It's a wonder he wasn't having nightmares of the beast's sickening smile.

"Welcome to Happy McBurger, home of the happiest burgers," Roxas cringed; the voice from the burger was monotonous and practically _oozing_ boredom, "what can I get you?"

Roxas frowned a bit. That wasn't the voice he was anticipating. It was a guy, for sure, but not Axel's—definitely not Axel's. It was so dead, so uncaring, so…_not happy._

"Hello? I said what can I get for you?" Another snap, another crackle. Roxas never understood how communication could work between a crappy intercom at a drive-thru, especially when the speaker was this cruddy at his job. It was like trying to translate someone blowing their nose.

"Uh," Roxas began, tongue suddenly feeling thick as he stared up at the menu that decorated this fat burger's body. His stomach groaned rather loudly as his eyes passed the multi-patty menu, "can I get, uh, Triple Happy Burger combo?"

There was a dull silence that ensued, and Roxas considered driving off before the speaker cracked again.

"Sorry, can you say that again?"

"A Triple Happy combo. With diet cola." Roxas said, a little louder this time, and with a lot more irritation.

"Wanna megasize your fries? Megasize your drink?" The drone-like voice asked. Roxas swore he heard a tired yawn at the other end.

"No."

"Five-eighty at the next window."

As the blond accelerated up the line, he cursed himself for not turning out and actually making it through to pay for a meal that he truthfully didn't want anymore. When he pulled up to the window, it was indeed not the redhead he was hoping to see, but a tall teenager who looked like puberty had decided to give him a really hard slap across his entire face.

"Five-eighty please."

Roxas pulled out the exact change and wordlessly handed it to the worker. He observed the male as he tossed the box containing the burger into the large bag, shoved in the drink, and dropped the container of fries along with it. He frowned. Even though he didn't really want to finish this meal, he _would_ like it presented in an edible manner, thank you very much.

Without the standard parting greeting as directed by the fast food restaurant, Roxas drove out of the line and slowed down as he drove across the wide parking lot. Making sure his car wasn't in anyone's way, he peeked into the bag to check if the order was right. His meal was there, but unfortunately, there were no napkins, nor a straw.

_Oh that dumbass._ Roxas cursed bitterly. He sighed, dropping the bag back into the passenger seat before readying himself to drive back up to dorm.

_Wait! _His right hand shouted. His hand jerked back to the hand break and pushed it down, much to Roxas's displeasure.

_Why don't you go in and eat inside the restaurant?_ Lefty piped up, _maybe your Axel's inside there!_

Roxas scoffed, shaking his head and letting out an unbelieving laugh. _And why the hell would I do that? I'm not __**that**__ much of a stalker—waitaminute…_

_Sez you. _Righty retorted, now choosing to pick a imaginary lint off the seats. _With all those mirrors attached to the car, I'm surprised you didn't see how far the corners of your mouth drooped when you heard that icky not-Axel voice at the 'com._

_Yeah, yeah! You didn't get to satisfy your eye libido today, didn't you? And nooow you're all pissy and threatening to boycott the entire chain._

_Can someone, for god's sake, feed me!! _It was Roxas's tummy's turn to chime in, only his participation was audible. The blond looked down in horror, the sound of his whining and empty stomach filling the car.

_Oooh yeah, see, you need to eat too, don't you Roxas?_

_And you can't drink that drink of yours without a straw, can you?_

_So what's a better plan—_

_--than going into that restaurant—_

_--and getting a straw—_

_--and maybe see Axel working inside??_

The pair of hands decided to celebrate their so-called plan by giving one another high-fives. Roxas groaned, peeling his hands away from each other after their brief little clap. He _really _shouldn't, _really_, but the idea was just so tempting!

_Haw haw, Roxas is turning into a shy little schoooolgirl!!_

"Augh! I am NOT shy! I can make decisions for myself, thank you!" In rapid decision, the blond drove the car away from the curb, only to park in an empty stall a few meters away. He tromped out, making sure to grab that stupid paper bag along before leaving the safety of his car. The young man made his way up to the double glass doors, hesitating to grab Mr. McBurger's hand before shaking it off and pulling the glass doors open, splitting the colorful image of the burger man in half.

Inside was cool with air conditioning, but the scent of cooking meat patties and frying potatoes was about a hundred times stronger. True to Axel's word, the interior of the restaurant was more appealing than Roxas gave it credit for. It wasn't obnoxiously lit, but bright enough to create a nice homey feeling to it. Roxas spotted several nicely potted plants sitting in large mosaic tesserae planters near the middle of the two large seating areas (_Damn, this place looks a __**lot **__smaller from outside.)_. And despite the numerous, garish looking portraits and cartoons of the restaurant mascot, Mr. McBurger, on the painted surfaces, there was just something about the maroon walls that sort of balanced out the flamboyant images, as well as those explosively bright colored seats and tables. Between the two eating areas was a large crowd of hungry customers, all making long, messy lines at each of the four tills.

The young student cautiously made his way over to the small granite top island with all the condiments and meal necessities, just briefly eyeing the cashiers at the tills. As his hands blindly felt for the packets of sweet chili sauce (he cringed as his pointer finger accidentally probed the messy opening of the mustard pump), his searching eyes looked for a familiar bonfire.

Unfortunately for the love-struck student, the worker of interest wasn't around, and the boy begrudgingly took his brown bag and additional pouches of sauce and walked off. He wandered into one of the two seating areas, weaving through bouncing and waddling children and settling his lunch at a table in a relatively empty zone. Sighing, the boy plopped himself into the repulsively bright orange chair at the lonely table, dropping the sweet-chili sauce and prying the mouth of the brown bag open. His brow furrowed in displeasure, suddenly remembering how he had come in for a straw and some napkins but totally neglecting to do so after he was…distracted.

The boy got back up, leaving his lunch at the table and sidled his way through the mess of spinny chairs and tables towards the same condiment island out front. A white-wrapped straw came out of its metal box, and Roxas snatched it up between his fingers while his other hand probed at the napkin dispenser. He was about to walk back to his meal when his eyes drifted down to the slot containing many red packets of chili sauce. Might as well grab a few more while he's at it.

"Sometimes I wonder if you actually eat those as condiments, or as a meal itself."

That boyish, husky voice gave the blond such a start, he dropped all the things he had collected and spun around to meet the culprit.

He felt his heart race when his eyes met green and red.

"Heya, Mr. McBurger."

"Axel!" Roxas exclaimed, a little louder than he wanted, "what—why--?"

There was that laugh again. "Why am I in here and not out there taking your order? Diligent Happy Troopers have lunch breaks too, y'know." He emphasized his point with a small show of his tray. Roxas's eyes widened a bit at the copious amount of food on his plate. It was a wonder how the tray wasn't already bending in the middle.

"Oh, yes, of course." Roxas agreed. _Sheesh, what kind of stupid question was that._ He turned around again, and upon noticing the small mess of stray napkins and packs of excess sauce over the counter, fumbled to pick them all up.

"Is…that always your lunch?" Roxas asked quietly, turning to look at the monstrous pile of food in the bright colored tray.

The redhead laughed, "actually, it's my second for today." The man gave a chuckle when the smaller male's cerulean eyes widened in shock. "Happy Troopers are still growing people, sir. It's exhausting standing up and speaking into a microphone eight hours a day."

Roxas gave a twitch of an amused grin and nodded. When the other male didn't say anything else, he wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation, so the shorter male attempted to wave goodbye to the man and go back to his burger lunch.

"So is it alright if I have lunch with McBurger himself?" Axel asked with the same playful tone, walking up beside the yellow-haired male. "Or should I just refer to you as 'sir'?"

"I, uh, er," his mind went into a temporary disablement. Such a pleasant and well-played opportunity should not be left out in the rain, yes? "Sure, have lunch with me, but only if you call me Roxas." _Oh, smooth, very smooth. I like that._

"Roxas," the worker said, feeling the name around in his mouth, "Roxas, nice to finally meet you."

The employee just grinned that familiar grin and followed the yellow-haired male through the dining area.

When the duo reached the blond's table, Roxas began feeling a bit jittery in the redhead's presence. Putting the three packets of spicy flavoring to his collection, Roxas slid himself into plastic bench seating near the wall. He maneuvered his tray away so Axel could deposit his own onto the small table before dropping himself into the seat across from the smaller male.

Roxas watched as the redhead opened one of the three boxes containing burgers before blinking out of his momentary daze and fishing out his own from the large bag.

"Bon appétit," the tall man announced cheerfully announced when both of them had their burgers out.

Roxas just smirked and nodded, giving a small "bon appétit" as well. As Axel sunk his straight teeth into what Roxas could tell was a Double Happy Burger, the blond began his little ritual with the sweet-chili sauce.

He removed the top bun and squeezed three packets of orangey red sauce onto the tender hamburger patty. After replacing the bun, he lifted the tempting treat to his mouth and took a bite. Roxas kept his eyes on Axel's still full tray as he chewed before putting the burger down again and deciding four packets just wasn't enough. He missed the glint of mirth that flickered in the redhead's vivid green eyes as he wrung two more packets dry.

"I think next time, instead of ordering sweet-chili sauce with your burger, just order a burger to go with your sweet-chili sauce." Axel said, amused with the display. The tall boy stifled a laugh when the sauce began making a mess on the blond's hands as the student took another bite out of it.

"Can't help it," Roxas replied, voice muffled with chunks of bread and meat, "I like spicy things." His chili-stained fingers felt around to grab a napkin from his bag.

"Heh, I can see that," came the husky voice. The tall worker just flashed Roxas another wide grin before taking a particularly large bit out of his burger. The two ate in relative silence aside from the few strands of small talk between the two, and short chuckles at children who had been running and crawling up and under the maze of tables and ended up knocking heads on the edges. Within a matter of _bites_, Axel was finished and was opening another box with one hand while the other held onto the cup he was drinking out of.

"So, you just finished first year at North Twilight U?" Axel broke the ice between bites of fries and cola.

"Well, technically no, since I'm taking summer courses at the moment. I'm just finishing up my this term's term papers and exams, and my term-two courses start two weeks later." Roxas replied, taking a gulp of his diet cola.

"Cool, what courses?"

"Um, I'm currently taking biology, and psychology, then I'm gonna be taking anthropology and another psychology."

"Ah," the redhead made a sound of realization, "psychology. Sounds cool. Diagnosed yourself with any disorders lately? Any maladaptive thought disturbances? Any stories of heightened euphoria or sad episodes you wanna share?" The man teased.

"Heh, no, fortunately."

"How about addictions?" Axel asked, a sly, quirky grin on his slender face, "suffered any withdrawals as of late? Any emotional stress?" The blond opened his mouth, then snapped it closed again. "How about signs of persistent desires or unsuccessful attempts to 'cut back' or 'stop' something?" The small male blanched a bit and fidgeted. "Something about Happy McBurgers must be _really_ good to get you coming back almost everyday…am I right, Roxas?"

The blond didn't know how to respond. It was like this man could see right through him.

"Just kidding, you," Axel snorted, stuffing a fry into his mouth, "I know what you're really using psychology for. You're gonna learn how to get into people's mind and predict their every move, right? Throw in a little kinesics and then you'll strive to be the next poker champion at Kingdom Cards, am I right? If not, you'd totally wipe the floor with people at Rock, Paper, Scissors or Tic-Tac-Toe."

"Heh, Rock, Paper, Scissors and Tic-Tac-Toe, maybe. Too bad I don't play poker."

"Ah, man, too bad I don't have a deck with me. I could have taught you right here," the man gave the younger male a teasing wink, "could have thrown in some stakes too and buffed you up for future mind-reader courses with a little strip poker, right?" Upon seeing the boy's look of shock, the man burst out in a howl, ungracefully spitting out small chucks of fries and bread in the process. "Heeey, no worries, just kidding. Not now, but maybe later." He gave another wink and resumed his feasting on the poor Happy Burger trapped between his fingers.

The Triple Happy Burger in Roxas's hands was only half done when Axel had finished a half of his new burger. As the redhead engrossed himself in his smaller burger, Roxas's eyes busied themselves with the lanky body across from him.

_Christ, he's so skinny for someone who junks out on grease burgers like this! _Roxas thought, blue eyes wandering down the male's neck and arms before descending down the expanse of the blue and red uniform.

"How can you eat so much of this stuff and still look so incredible?" The string of words blurted out of his mouth before Roxas could stop it. Green eyes blinked in mild shock, and Roxas suddenly averted his eyes. "I—I mean, you eat so much but—uh, you—"

Axel let out a small chuckle, giving his sandwich another big bite before putting it down on his tray. He looked up, intense eyes staring straight at Roxas.

_Whoa, his eyes are so cat-like._

"You think I look good?" Axel asked, smirking as he took the white straw between his thin pink lips.

Roxas's mouth opened and closed, making him resemble something close to a gigantic blond koi fish as wordless mumbo-jumbo slipped passed his lips.

"W-well, you're so, uh, f-fit, yeah, that's the word." He corrected, swallowing the suddenly large bite that was in his mouth with a hard gulp. "You certainly stand out from the rest of the workers, like a red beacon of light." Roxas tried again. "Not that you're uh, unique in a bad way, like your hair is just, wow, like, _wow, _I mean, uh," Roxas's expressive hands were fidgeting all over the place, "I-I mean, you probably have to beat women off with your stick—I mean _a_ stick—crap! No, I just meant—forget it—you're an awesome worker. Yeah. Great work habits."

The blond mentally struck himself across the face, brewing up a cussing storm in his mind as mouth went on auto-pilot. Roxas suddenly wished the numerous pictures of Mr. McBurger on the walls would come alive and chew him up to put him out of this embarrassing misery. He didn't miss the entertained expression painted on the boy's tattooed visage, and tried to compose himself by scarfing down French fries.

_I should have quit while I was ahead, _Roxas grumbled, intent on chewing these stupid sticks of crisp potato, _now I probably look like a major freak, blatantly hitting on him like that._

"No worries, kid" the sound of Axel's voice (and inappropriate use of the name 'kid') brought Roxas back to the restaurant setting, scowling a bit, "s'not every day you get such nice compliments at a fast food joint," he smirked, shoveling a handful of fries into his mouth, "everyone's usually too busy screaming orders of "large Happy Fries!" or "three Happy Ham Subs!" to say anything remotely nice about the service," he eyed the blond curiously, that Cheshire Grin never leaving his pretty features, "or about the workers, no less. Is that the reason why you like eating burgers so much?" When Roxas didn't respond immediately, Axel took an initiative and leaned over the table and closed in on Roxas. "I'm so flattered."

Oh, oh, oh _damn_, that wasn't a blush that was creeping into pale cheeks, was it? The blond felt his heart try to jump out of his ribcage as he lost himself in those profound green eyes.

"Then again, we _do_ have a wide variety of yummy, yummy treats…" The tall male spoke softly, not hiding the teasing little emphasis on words, "so what can Axel get for you today?"

The blond felt his face ignite itself, the chili flavor on his tongue suddenly feeling intensely hotter. Wait, was this normal? Flirting with a fast food worker that you've only seen and heard from a grand total of five minutes a day for several weeks? How corny was _that_? What was this, straight out of a crappy romance novel or what?

Roxas's tongue began making elaborate loops around itself as Axel's words fanned over his tingling skin. "Uh…"

"You feeling hungry, Roxas, sir?" A hand reached down to pick up a fry and slip it in between two rows of teeth. Axel's gaze never left Roxas, chewing slowly on the fry.

"What…are you offering today?" Roxas breathed, words forming by themselves and happily dancing out of Roxas's mouth without permission.

"Yummy burgers as usual. Thick, juicy, luscious patty on two warm buns," Axel began, grin spreading wider with Roxas's little participation with the game, "we serve rich, creamy, sweet ice cream too."

"What flavor?" Roxas asked, head spinning with the close proximity of Axel's face. He couldn't remember the last time he got so incredibly dizzy staring into someone's eyes. The two small black tattoos beneath each eye bent and flexed with Axel's grinning countenance.

"Chocolate Craving…Strawberry Sensation…Caramel Cream…lots of delicious sweets," the tall male listed. Roxas grew familiar with the arousing hissing when the man pronounced his 's's, and the bewitching roll of his 'r's. The lanky worker had a light voice, but with an enticing rough edge around it all. And beneath the scent of frying potatoes and grilling burger patties, Roxas could make out a faint aroma of spicy cinnamon as he spoke with the alluring redhead. _ Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon_, Roxas thought, _I like cinnamon…_

"Do you have hot cinnamon?" The boy asked, doing his best to hold back that groan that was persistent in escaping.

"You like spicy things." The young adult exclaimed. "I'll commit that to memory."

Roxas was soon aware of the gentle knuckles that were stroking the underside of his jaw, and a little noise escaped his throat. Upon hearing the approving sound, Axel slipped forward even more, shifting to move his tray and shove it onto the empty table beside them.

"Tell me, sir," Axel whispered, face now just a couple inches away from the blond's reddened one, "do you lick, or bite?"

There was a murmur at the back of Roxas's head, one that faintly told him to _do it now! He's right in front of you!_ Roxas's head spun. He knew this little meeting was unorthodox and rather strange, but he couldn't help but indulge his entire body in it.

"I…" Roxas swallowed. He wondered curiously which option would whet the man's appetite more. "I…lick."

In response, the taller male licked his own lips, the action making Roxas's breath jump a hurdle. "Did you know the average person has about ten thousand taste buds?" Axel murmured. He drew closer. "it was long believed that there were localized taste buds for specific tastes—sweet…sour…bitter…and salty."

Roxas was losing his mind. This was the longest he'd ever spent with the worker, and he was positive he was about to explode if the redhead went any slower.

"I wonder," the redhead thought aloud, hands tamely taking hold of the blond's collar, "if there are buds that react to the taste of blue-eyed blonds named Roxas?"

_This is it!_ Roxas's head screamed. His clammy hands were balled up and gripping his T-shirt in a death grip. _This is it! Fifteen minutes into lunch and I'm gonna kiss a Happy McBurger worker in a matter of seconds and ride off into the sunset!!_

"Why don't you find out?" He hammered the last nail in, sealing the deal. His heart was frantic, and his breath picked up. Before his eyes fluttered shut, he made out the gorgeous face of Axel as he gave one last, teasing smirk and leaned in…

—and the atrociously loud shrill of someone's digital watch left them at a standstill.

When the boy didn't feel a burning heat on his mouth, he felt something inside him crumble like a month old cookie. Cautiously, Roxas opened his eyes, and found himself staring into the frustrated face of the restaurant employee. The tall man put on a grimace, closed his eyes, and let out a hiss of a disappointed laugh. On his wrist was a black and blue digital watch, beeping and crying out for Axel to press the "Stop" tab. When the annoying noise wasn't silenced, it retaliated and heightened its crescendo. Roxas just sighed, and withdrew from the redhead's gentle hold.

"Goddamn it."

Roxas watched as Axel harshly pressed the little buttons on his watch, squelching the sound completely. He felt like a rock just sank to the bottom of his heart.

_Hah, I knew that was too easy to be true._

"Sorry, sir—Roxas," Axel mumbled, tossing his napkins and scraps of paper from the straw wrapping onto the tray with his unfinished burger and fries, "time for me to get back to work."

The uneasy blond just nodded silently, observing the fluid movements of the redhead. Axel offered to take the blond's tray if he was done, but Roxas denied politely.

"Well, I'll see you around then, Rox." He departed with a characteristic two-fingered salute.

The use of such a casual nickname caught Roxas's attention, but the smaller male just gave him a breath of a glance before returning his focus to the unfinished food in front of him. "Yeah, hope to see you next time?"

"Yeah, here's hoping, Mr. McBurger, sir." The redhead pulled a laugh, and walked off to dump his garbage, leaving the blond alone to tend to his dying chuckle.

Roxas half-heartedly debated the finishing of his food. He grew bored with the state of thought in a matter of seconds, and settled for just tossing his balled up napkins bitterly into the mess of flavored carbohydrates. The boy ran a hand through his hair, cursing in a low tone when he remembered he had felt up the open tube of a sauce dispenser. His eyes shut, and he wasted a few minutes just sitting there with a numbed, blank mind. He remained in a catatonic state for a while longer, letting the remnants of his blush fade off his cheeks. Completely ignoring the rest of his lunch, the blond settled for twiddling his thumbs on his lap, eyes staring blankly forward.

_What the hell was that?_ Lefty asked none too subtly.

_A wasted fifteen minutes, I'd say, _Righty answered, still engaged in drawing circles with his counterpart. _Why didn't you just grab his hair and yank him forward?!_

'_Cause that'd be too scary, even for a guy like him. _Roxas insisted. _I barely know the guy aside from the obvious fact that…well…he's fun and…confident…and attractive…and…_

_Very much gay. _Roxas really wanted to punch his stomach for that one, but decided against such actions. He suddenly pondered what would be of them if Axel _wasn't_ as homosexual but rather decidedly appalled by the fact he was eating lunch with a man who was no straighter than a rainbow.

_Maybe that would have been better, _Roxas frowned, wallowing in his dejection, _at least it'd give me a reason to go back to being a veggie Nazi. I could have eaten away whatever infatuation with a nice salad. _Roxas felt a fifty kilo weight grip at his chest and tugged down on it harshly. _That ended in the worst way possible. _Roxas felt the need to beat something up, maybe stab a few things.

After deciding that driving up to the campus gym and beating the crap out of the hanging kick bag would be a delicious end to such a stormy day, the blond got up and grumbled his way towards the trash bin. He twirled around and saw his way towards the washroom, forgetting to apologize to the small boy who he had carelessly brushed a leg against as he paced towards the destination. The teal door was pushed open, and Roxas was left alone in the midst of tiled walls and chrome sinks.

Even in his muddled state of mind, Roxas had to admit that the washroom was actually pretty nice and clean for a fast food restaurant. The sink was dry, there weren't any stains on the heavy linoleum floor, and there wasn't the heavy stench of toilet cleansers or urinal cakes in the air. There was even the soft hum of a radio tune to boot.

Letting a sigh leave his lips, he walked over to one of the sinks and proceeded to wash out the stickiness from his hands. As the boy was in the middle of lathering the forks of his fingers, the door swung open.

"Oh, hi again." Axel said, stuck at the threshold. He looked at Roxas with the same, sincere friendly stare, but Roxas had a feeling that the man was unsure whether or not this was the best time to do his business.

"Hi…" Roxas replied, dragging his eyes back to the soap suds in front of him. _Damn, damn, damn…_

"I guess I'm honored with another visit from McBurger himself," Axel joked, striding over with his long legs to settle at the sink beside Roxas. He turned on the faucet, and ran those slender hands of his under the stream of water.

"You're so weird, I swear," Roxas breathed, not bothering to hide the small smile that had pulled at his facial muscles.

"Better to sell burgers with, sir."

There was a small pause, and Axel finished scrubbing his hands quicker than Roxas. With a final idle scratch of his crimson mane and another attempt at small talk, Axel took long strides towards the door.

"Well, guess that's it for me. See ya!" Axel gave a brief nod of his head, and his hand reached up to grip the silver handle of the washroom door.

Roxas, whose hands were still wet under the running faucet, could only stare with an intense, confused look on his face. Axel was leaving again, he gathered, and if he didn't do anything now, they're going to be stuck in this perpetual awkward meet-and-leave cycle. He could feel tension in the rope that tied him to this fascinating redhead.

_I came in here to meet you. _Roxas's neurons were firing overtime now, and a certain flame lit up in those orbs of blue. _I came in here to finally sooth my annoying pining wishes and get to know who the heck you are and what the heck it is about you that let you get so deep into my skin and_—_and **make** me order greasy fast food! I'm not letting this chance slip away._

Before the redhead could open the door wide enough and slip out, the teal entry was sealed rather abruptly with a loud bang. Axel's uniform-clad form hit the door with a suddenness even the redhead couldn't comprehend. With his back against the colored surface the tall employee looked down at the perpetrator in a daze.

There was a sliver of a second where livid green eyes met majestic blues, and it was all it took to push Roxas over the edge. Before either of the two could grasp at the situation, they found themselves locked together at the mouth. Roxas's dripping hands were fisted into Axel's blue and red collar, tugging the taller male down as he continued to press forward and upward, desperately moving against the man's warmth. The smaller male's pink lips moved passionately, pleadingly against the worker's own. Their clothed figures eventually began sliding along one another, and Roxas felt his neck heat up in a blaze as his chest heaved against the redhead's firm stomach. The boy had his eyes firmly closed. This was his moment, a moment he seized. He was going to wring it dry, but very soon, he found himself far too dizzy and hazy to continue with his breathless actions.

Roxas pulled back suddenly, leaving both males with very unsatisfied ends. The uncomfortable ache was back, and Roxas felt his lungs swell in anticipation. "Oh…oh my god." Sapphire eyes looked up apologetically at Axel's visage, which was rendered with a shocked blank stare. "Crap, Axel, I—I didn't mean t-to do that!" Axel's thin eye brows twitched a bit, green eyes still a bit out of focus. Roxas's windpipe went into autopilot again as he garbled over apologetic words. "No, I mean, yes—I wanted to do that because—because—you're so _awesome _and I'm a-attracted—but I didn't want to—no, I didn't mean to do it so _harshly_ and without your permission, oh crap now you probably think that I—I—"

It was Roxas's turn to whimper out in surprise when he felt two strong hands spin his entire body around and his own back collide with the hard door. When he came out of his momentary disorientation, he found himself staring into a pair of green eyes that were already illuminated in animalistic desire. The redhead growled "shut up", effectively sending a shiver speeding down the blond's spine. The young student didn't manage to inhale a full breath before a warm and rather zealous mouth latched back onto his.

The entire world was spinning again, but this time, it felt a lot, _lot_ more wonderful. In contrast to Roxas's hasty pressing of lips, Axel's torrid kiss was practically melting the undergraduate with its waves of passion. The man's lips were soft and tender, yet claiming and commanding.

Roxas slid closer against Axel's body as slim arms slid down to loop around his lower back. He let out a long breath through is nose, unable to withhold the emotional sighs when Axel's warm tongue swept delicately along the seam of his lips. Passion soared through the roof when the redhead took advantage of the invitation and tangled his exploring muscle with Roxas's. With a small gasp, the blond looped his arms around his partner's neck, standing up on tip toes to get as much of Axel as possible. One particular roll of the man's tongue left the blond male appropriately breathless. In the midst of it all, the blond vaguely noted the taste of fruit punch on Axel's tongue and the heady scent of spicy cinnamon.

The blue-eyed male pulled back first, letting his light head fall back against the door. The small room filled with the echoed sounds of their breathless panting and occasional contented sighs. In the background, a slow, romantic piano song played to accompany the inner celebration and confetti party that was surely going on in both their minds.

Axel rested his forehead against the shorter male's, blushing face stuck in a goofy grin. "You're a good kisser, Roxas."

The blond couldn't help but laugh, flattered by such a compliment. "Thanks for reminding me," he joked softly. Feeling a bit—scratch that—a _lot_ more confident, he reached up and stroked the other's cheek with a hand, leaving small trails of water, and pulled himself up to land a small kiss on the reddened lips, "was it good enough to score me a free lunch next time I'm here?"

"I'll have to ask my manager about that one." Axel grinned, maneuvering a hand to run long fingers through the soft forest of yellow.

"I'd better go with you then," the blond teased, cocking his head to the side, "I have to speak to your manager about you telling customers to 'shut up'." The redhead laughed softly and tightened his hold on the smaller male.

The blond student gave a sigh. He felt so relaxed, so..._free_, what with the replacement of the heavy nervousness with glorious contentment. The two stayed in that warm embrace for a while longer before redhead announced his needed return to the drive-thru window. After several small jokes about Roxas and his wet hands, the two walked out, satisfied smiles plastered over their faces. Being a Happy Trooper, Axel gladly held the door open for the blond, and greeted several customers on the way out of the restaurant. They stopped a few meters out, just out of the other employees' sight.

"You should tell me when you're coming next," Axel began, eyes squinting in the bright sunshine, "I need to know how many extra boxes of sweet-chili sauce to order next time."

The student merely smirked, "I dunno, I think I've found something sweeter and spicier than that already. I might have to convert." He shuffled a bit on his shoes. How cute. "Thanks for the dessert, Happy Trooper." Roxas teased.

"No worries, Mr. McBurger sir." The green-eyed beauty replied in his usual jest. He reached out with a hand and toyed a bit with Roxas's smooth fingers before slipping a piece of paper into his curled digits. "Don't forget your receipt."

Roxas had a good idea what his 'total' came to, and just smirked, "so what's the damage?"

"It's pretty hefty," Axel replied smugly, "somewhere in the seven digits, really."

"Do you normally keep hefty receipts in your pocket like that?"

"Only for little blond burger addicts."

Axel leaned forward and caught the blond's mouth in a warm kiss. It was short, but dang, Roxas thought, it was potent.

If this were a movie, Roxas would have considered it corny enough to feed an entire country, but he was too busy staring into those green eyes that have distracted him day in and day out to care. With a couple satisfied 'goodbyes', the pair went their separate ways. Axel headed back to his booth, intent on making everyone's day just a bit happier, and Roxas practically floated back to his car, hoping to head on home and maybe bottle up this joy and save it for later. That was one fix that could last him a while. As the car rolled out of the parking lot, Roxas couldn't help but turn his head to give the bright, colorful restaurant another look.

Happy McBurgers, saving the world, one Double Happy Burger at a time.

--oOo--


End file.
